What is the size of the stack and heap memory?

The size of the stack and heap is not fixed and depends on several factors:

• Stack:

  • The stack size is determined at the thread level.
  • The default stack size may vary depending on the Android version and the virtual machine implementation (JVM/ART).
  • Typically, this size is a few megabytes (e.g., 1-8 MB).
  • The stack size can be configured programmatically when creating a thread, but this is rarely used in standard Android development.

• Heap:

  • The heap size is allocated for the entire application process.
  • The heap size dynamically changes during the application's runtime, increasing as needed (up to a certain limit).
  • The maximum heap size depends on the device, total RAM, and system configuration.
  • A typical maximum heap size for an application can range from tens to hundreds of megabytes on mobile devices.
  • There is also a concept of "large heap," which can be requested in the application's manifest (android:largeHeap="true") to obtain a larger maximum heap size, but this is not recommended for general use due to potential negative impacts on system and other applications' performance.

Summary:

• Stack: Several MBs (per thread), fixed at thread creation.
• Heap: Tens/hundreds of MBs (per process), dynamic, limited by maximum.

There are no exact universal values, as they depend on the specific device, OS version, and configuration.